Inflatable ball.



XT. R. CLINE,

INFLATABLE BALL. P PLIOATIONHLED APR. 9, 1912.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

@Hmong W gwn w@ THRMN R. CLINE, 0F ANDREWS, INDIANA.

. INFLTABLE BALL.

maasa'e.

Specilcaton of Letters Patent. Application led'pril 9, 19.12. Serial No. 689,555.

ratemeaapaeaieia To all whomrz't may concern.'

Be it known that I, THUnMAN R.l CLINE, a citizen of the United States, reslding at Andrews, inthe county of Huntingtonand State of Indiana, yhave invented new and useful lmprovements in Inflatable Balls, of

which'the following` is aspecication.

Anobject of the invention is to provide a ball that vcan be quickly and easily inflated or deflated.

` The invention embodies, among other features, aball such as 4those adapted for play-l ing foot-ball, basket-ball or the like, and in which the ball can be inflated .or deflated Without disturbingthe lacing that ,secures the outer casing, the ball'being provided with a valve, by means of which the ball is inflated or deflated, the said valve being pointof lacing' spaced a dist-ance Jfrom the of the outer casing.

' In the further disclosure of the'inv'ention reference is to be had to .the ,accompanying drawings constituting a pai-tof this speciparticularly to the views,

' I employ a ball 10 comprising anouter cas- 4ing or cover 11 anda bladder 12 arranged within the casing 11 and conforming to the shape of the casing when the bladder is inflated, thecasing 11 being provided with a lacing portion 13 which comprises a slot or opening 14 formed in the casing for the purpose of inserting or removing the bladder 12 from the casing, the mentioned slot being normally closed by a lacing cord 15, the said cord belng passed through openings 16 in the casing to bring together the edges of the casing, formed by providing the s`lot or opening 14 therein.

To one 'side and a distance from the lacing port-ion 13 of the casing 11 an aperture 17\is provided in the casing and mounted therein is a valve 18,. the 'said valve preferably comprising a tubular casing 19 provided `with guide members 20 for guiding a valve Stem 21 slidably mounted in the tubular casing 19 and provided with a valve member 22, .adapted to engage `a seat 23 formed on valve member y22 being normally held on the seat 28, to close the valve,-by a spring 24 mounted within the tubular casin 19, the inner periphery of the tubular casing being threaded atthe upper end to removably receive a cap 25 provided to prevent dust or dirt from entering the valve andclogging the same. Avalve plate` 26 is formedl with the tubular casing 19, and when the valve is mounted to extend 'through the aperture 17 in the casing 11 the valveplate '26 will be arranged between the casing 11 and the bladder 12, the upperend of the* valve 18 being adapted to lie Vslightly below the surfacel one of theA guide members 20, the mentioned of the casing A11 to prevent thel valve from 1 lbeing struck with the-hands when the ball 10 is used. To rigidly secure the valve in position, a securing plate 27 is interposed 12 the said securingplate being provided with a recess 28 through which the tubular casing19 extends, a series of holes 29 being provided in the edge of the securing plate 27 for'the purpose of sewing or otherwise securing the plate 27 to the casing 11, it being between thegvalvelplate 26and the bladder readily seen that when the securing plate 27 is mounted in position as' mentioned, the valve 18 will be held in rigid position relatively to the casing 11 and the bladder 12.

The valve 18 is arranged in the position mentioned before the lacingcord 15 is arranged to close the slot orvopening 14 and when the valve has been positioned as shown the lacing cord is secured to the casing to close the opening or slot therein, it being understood thatthe lacing 4cord d oes' not need to be rdisturbed in any manner except for the purpose of removing or repairing the bladder 12 arranged wit-hin the casing 11. When it is desired to inflate the bladder, the cap 25 is removed from the tubular casing 19 and an ordinary bicycle'pump or the like is threadedly connected to the casing, after which lthe-pump is operated to inflate the bladder 12, it being readily understood that when air is -forced from the pump, the pressure of the air will, inflate the valve member 22 and permit the air' to pass into `the bladder, the action of the spring 24 being adapted to close the valve to prevent air from passing out of the bl'adder/ when the same has been once inflated. If, however, it

is desired to voluntarily deflate the bladder, the valve member 22 can be held in open position by simply pressing downwardly .on

l of the user at the point where the valve is mounted.

My device can be conveniently used inconnection Withpunching bags, foot-balls, basketballs, push ballsand other, pneumatic or inflatable articles and it will be readily seen that the ball can be inflated or deiiated without'disturbing the lacing cord; that the ball can be iniated or deflated without exposing the bladder 12 as is the case when it is necessary to remove the lacing cord from i thev casing and the ball can be .laced before the same is inated, thus permitting the o erator to quickly and easily 'lace the bal, whereas the usual methodis to rst inate the Yball and then lacelthe same, it being readily understood that when this procedure is adopted it is almost impossible to properly and securely lace theball while at the same time, especially when a lacing needle p is used in connection with the lacing cord,

v turbing the lacing portion'of the casing, but` Y the tendency of the lacing needle to punc ture the bladder is very great. It will be further seen that my device not only permits' of inflating or deflating a ball without disshape of the all s also retains the bladder in rigid position `within= the` casing and in proper relation thereto, thus preventing the bladder from becoming distorted within the casing 'and causingy the ball, when inflated, to appear uneven or eg -shapi whereas the natural case in a basket-ball. When my device is used in connection with a foot-ball the point- :ed ends of the bladder will be held within the casing adjacent the pointed ends of the casing by the valve arranged .on the casing ,and connected to the'bladder for -inpliating 'or deiating the same, and thus any distor- ,tion of the casing is entirely prevented.

lHaving thus described my invention, I claimz'- In a ball, the combination with a casing having a bladder therein, of a tubular member extending into the said bladder and into ould be round as is the 'an opening in the said easing, a valve plate on the said tubular, member and arranged between the bladder and the'casing, a valve in the tubular member, and a perforated recessed securing plate interposed between the said; valve plate and thefsaid bladder, with the said tubular member extending .through Y the recess of the securing plate, the" said apertures being providedon the said securing plate for sewing thesame to the said casing. In testimony whereof I aixl my signature Ain presence of two witnesses. ,l

; g THURMAN R, CLINE.' 'Wtnesse'sz -A JOHN4 Q. CLlNE,

-EDGAR E. KELsEY. 

